Stories for January 23, 2021
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Jeni Slotchiver - American Heritage takes you to a different world of patience and space / Jazz Weekly
Posted At : January 23, 2021 6:24 AM
Following the success of the Busoni The Visionary series, Jeni Slotchiver is humbled to introduce something so intimately close to home. With Southern roots of her own, Ms. Slotchiver's debut ZOHO CD release American Heritage is her homage to the legendary composers preserving American folk music and creating anew. What was once familiar, is reborn. Spanning 125 years, from Louis Moreau Gottschalk's The Banjo (ca. 1854-5) to Frederic Rzewski's Down by the riverside (1979), American Heritage presents piano compositions by composers of concert music, inspired by the melodies, dance rhythms, harmonic inventions and various stylistic elements evocative of the American experience. Of the eight composers represented, six are of African descent and two of these are women. There are quotes from spirituals, use of the African American pentatonic scale, the African call and response structure popularized in southern church tradition, polyphonic rhythms of jazz, and the rich, sultry harmonies of blues. With the exception of the rich musical heritage of Indigenous people, the largest and most important American folkloric body of work arrived on American shores with the first enslaved African people. Jazz Weekly's George W. Harris writes....Pianist Jeni Slotchiver gives solo interpretations of music from early to late 20th Century, taking you to a different world of patience and space. While classically trained, Slotchiver has a rich blues touch and a bona fide feel for gospel and folk material. Material ranges from a homespun read of "Swanee River" to the spiritual "Down By The Riverside" as well as the folk classic "Shenandoah" but with an arrangement by Keith Jarret. Parlor moods are presented in a collection of pieces from Harry Thacker Burleigh and the genteel pen of Louis Moreau Gottschalk, on "Union" and "The Banjo" while traditional pieces like "Deep River" and even 1967's "Troubled Water" feel like they've both been drawn from the same well. A journey to another world and world view. SEE THE Jazz Weekly PAGEJane Ira Bloom and Mark Helias improvise together over zoom / NPR: Fresh Air
Posted At : January 21, 2021 12:00 AM
Soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom and bassist Mark Helias come together to create duets discovered in the moment in a way that is rarely heard today with Some Kind of Tomorrow. The long time bandmates, separated by space and time find a way to play in real time with one another and the results are magical. Two master improvisers and composers bring listeners up-close and personal to the first spark of their imaginations at work, recording eleven duet improvisations over the spring, summer, and fall of 2020. The music is raw, authentic, intimate, alive, and unapologetic in its passion. Their sound is deep wood and polished brass recorded with a depth that is hard to describe. They played the music, recorded it, mastered it firsthand and are now making it available to listeners for the first time as a digital download on Bandcamp. Don't miss these fearless jazz explorers as they face the future. Heard on Fresh Air, here's Kevin Whitehead's piece. LISTEN & READ THE TRANSCRIPTShunia delivers heart-lifting chants for these troubled times / American songwriter
Posted At : January 20, 2021 12:00 AM
Shunia is a duo that combines addictive melodies, ancient chants and polycultural rhythms into a sound that feels both new and timeless. Their music captures and conveys deep energies and spirit. The state of "shunia" means stillness, receptivity. Shunia's members, Lisa Reagan and Suzanne Jackson both performed with the Washington National Opera for 20 years before finding continued success in their solo careers. Coming together as Shunia, they combined their influences, inspirations and experiences to create genre-defying music with the power to transform and to connect you to the energy within and around you. It can put you in touch with something as simple as your five senses or as mysterious as the infinite. American Songwriter's NADIA NEOPHYTOU writes......To press play on Shunia's new album of chants is to allow a wave of calm and relaxation to wash over one's whole self. For Lisa Reagan and Suzanne Jackson, who've known each other for 30 years, sharing the gift that's been a major part of their lives with others is the reason they began recording together as the duo Shunia in the first place. "Music in and of itself is such a powerful medium," Reagan tells American Songwriter. "It is the language of our humanity and our souls. We know these mantras are tried and true, and we have personally been chanting them for years." READ THE FULL American songwriter ARTICLEEd O'Keefe is the CBS news white house correspondent who came to play / 98.7WFMT Q&A
Posted At : January 20, 2021 12:00 AM
WFMT: Chicago 's Candice Agree writes....From the age of 3, CBS News political correspondent Ed O'Keefe toiled at a keyboard-not in typing, as unintended preparation for his 13 years at the Washington Post, but in studying classical piano in Delmar, a suburb of Albany, NY. Although he loved playing, his interest in current events and politics pulled him into a journalism career. No stranger to Chicago, in 2008, O'Keefe was in Grant Park the night that Barack Obama was elected president. O'Keefe, 37, is about to become a fixture in the White House press room, as he will cover the Biden administration for the TV network he joined in 2018. But he has never left his first passion far behind. He shared some musical memories with us before taking on his new assignment at CBS News as Senior White House & Political Correspondent. Photo courtesy CBS News) READ Candice Agree's Q&A with Ed O'Keefe.Jane Ira Bloom, Mark Helias 'Some Kind Of Tomorrow' is raw, intimate, and fearless / JAZZ VIEWS
Posted At : January 20, 2021 12:00 AM
Jane Ira Bloom, Mark Helias 'Some Kind Of Tomorrow' was Reviewed by JAZZ VIEWS Sammy Stein, who wrote........
Saxophone player Jane Ira Bloom and bass player Mark Helias are long-time collaborators. This album was born out of the need to create music in such a unique time where live audiences and in-person studio recordings were impossible. Recorded remotely from their homes, the music stands as a departure from any kind of release they have done together as all tracks are completely improvised. The resulting sound is raw, intimate, and fearless. I asked Jane Ira Bloom about the recording, and she explained, " Given how we had to make this made Mark and I rely on the most basic aspect of our collaborative impulse – our two sets of ears. Mark and I have known one another for over 40 years. We first met in New Haven CT in the 1970s, and when you think about it, you build up so much shared vocabulary when you've played with someone over such a long time. We really didn't plan this recording. It happened because we needed to improvise with one another and so the music emerged from a different place than normal when you plan a recording project." READ THE FULL JAZZ VIEWS REVIEWSignum Saxophone Quartet - Echoes is the WFMT: Featured New Release
Posted At : January 19, 2021 12:00 AM
An ensemble that attracts rave reviews and sell-out crowds at prestigious venues everywhere from Vienna to New York, the sensational Signum Saxophone Quartet presents their first Deutsche Grammophon album. Featuring inventive arrangements of music by composers from Dowland to Peter Gregson, as well as Guillermo Lago's Sarajevo, a saxophone quartet original, Echoes showcases the full potential of the saxophone – a modern instrument more than capable of capturing the echoes of the past. For January 19, 2021, the Signum Saxophone Quartet: Echoes is the WFMT: Chicago 'Featured New Release.'Sa Re Sa Sa is a healing mantra which rings true for Shunia / Yogi Times
Posted At : January 19, 2021 12:00 AM
Yogi Times - Windy Campbell writes....Sa Re Sa Sa is a famous mantra in the Kundalini Yoga community, which embraces ancient mantras and modern affirmations as a critical aspect of everyday yoga and meditation. The Sa Re Sa Sa chant is believed to remove adversity and negativity from within, awakening one's Infinite Creative energy and removing obstacles to higher consciousness. Sa Re Sa Sa chant is often a starting point in one's yogic journey, which rings true for the duo Shunia, whose members, Suzanne Jackson and Lisa Reagan, share a love of yoga, meditation, and singing; both have followed a path from opera's world stage to immersion in a chant. The duo's mission is to merge music, mantra, and movement with healing and connection. The pronunciation of the Sa Re Sa Sa mantra is relatively straightforward. TAKE A LOOKTop 10 for Jan
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SIGNUM saxophone quartet :
Echoes
An ensemble that attracts rave reviews and sell-out crowds at prestigious venues everywhere from Vienna to New York, the sensational SIGNUM saxophone quartet are now set to present their first Deutsche Grammophon album. -
The Album Leaf :
SYNCHRONIC - OMPS
Milan Records announces the release of SYNCHRONIC (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK) with music by The Album Leaf. -
Poor Clare Sisters of Arundel :
Light for the World
More than 800 years since they were founded, the Poor Clare Sisters of Arundel – a community of 23 nuns living in the south of England – have found themselves unexpected recording stars. -
Ilan Eshkeri :
A Perfect Planet
Sony Music today announces the January 8, 2021 release of A PERFECT PLANET (SOUNDTRACK FROM THE BBC SERIES) with music by composer ILAN ESHKERI (Stardust, The Young Victoria). -
Jane Ira Bloom, Mark Helias :
Some Kind of Tomorrow
Soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom and bassist Mark Helias come together to create duets discovered in the moment in a way that is rarely heard today with Some Kind of Tomorrow. -
Catalyst Quartet :
Uncovered Vol. 1 - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
On Friday, February 5, 2021, GRAMMY Award-winning Catalyst Quartet releases UNCOVERED Volume 1 on Azica Records. -
Laila Biali :
A Case of You - LIVE
SOCAN Music and JUNO Award winner Laila Biali shares an intimate acoustic cover of Joni Mitchell's classic love song, A Case of You, captured live off the floor at Revolution Recording Studios. -
Max Richter :
Beethoven - Opus 2020
Max Richter and Deutsche Grammophon are set to release a brand-new orchestral composition to mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birthday. -
Yo-Yo Ma | Kathryn Stott :
Comfort and Hope
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Kathryn Stott come together again, this time for Songs of Comfort and Hope, set for release on December 11, 2020 on Sony Classical. -
Benjamin Grosvenor :
Liszt
Hot on the heels of his 2020 Diapason d'Or and Gramophone Award triumphs, British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor presents his first album in a renewed exclusive partnership with Decca Classics.
Junkie XL to sell a huge portion of his gear collection on 'Reverb'
Posted: November 20, 2020 12:00 AM | By: AdminTom Holkenborg, aka Junkie XL, has been a true force in composition and music production for decades. While creating dance hits in his earlier career to scoring some of the most-acclaimed film music of recent years-like Mad Max: Fury Road, Deadpool, Alita: Battle Angel, or, with Hans Zimmer, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice-he's always used an array of instruments, often playing them all himself.
Fans of his work have likely seen this gear in action on his Studio Time YouTube show: walls and walls of 5U and Eurorack modular systems, shelves of vintage synths and drum machines, guitars and effects, and plenty of recording gear to capture the magic. Holkenborg will part with a large portion of this collection through The Official Junkie XL Reverb Shop, opening December 9.
PHOTO BY OLAF HEINE
READ THE FULL ARTICLE & WATCH THE VIDEO
Crossover Media Projects with Tom Holkenborg
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Tom Holkenborg
White Lines - Music From The Netflix Original Seri
Milan Records announces the release of WHITE LINES (MUSIC FROM THE NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES) with music by multi-platinum producer, musician, composer and educator TOM HOLKENBORG aka JUNKIE XL. Available Friday, May 15, the album features music written by Holkenborg for Netflix's newest original series WHITE LINES which follows a young woman navigating the island of Ibiza in the wake of her brother's mysterious death. Drawing from his experience as a multi-platinum-selling producer, multi-instrumentalist and DJ, as well as his lengthy scoring resume of hit titles including Sonic the Hedgehog, Mad Max: Fury Road and Deadpool, Holkenborg provides the perfect sonic companion to the show's backdrop of Ibiza dance club culture. From Álex Pina, creator of the award-winning crime drama Money Heist, WHITE LINES debuts on Netflix Friday, May 15.